[linkbuilding] link partner page on webshop, is it working?

[auke1810]

Hello Mozzers,

I am wondering about the effect of link building by swapping links between websites and adding a link partner page to the web shop containing hundreds of links.

I have this new competitor coming in to the SERP of Google competing on the keywords I am targeting. The competitor has way more links than our web shop.

The competitor has a page with hundreds of links to other web shops witch on there turn has a link to there web shop. (not all off them link back btw)

I always thought it is no use sharing links with other websites this way in creating a huge page with hundreds of links. it is of no benefit for neighter website to do this.

Still it does seems to work (?) and tis strategy is used by a lot of web shops in the Netherlands.

How are you guys looking at this?
Witch of you guy's are using strategy like this?
Should I pick up this strategy myself?

[TomRayner]

Hey there

There's no point in me pretending that this doesn't work - you've seen for yourself that it could be working for a competitor.

However - would I recommend using the same method? Absolutely not.

First, let's look at how it could be working.  These link pages will be passing PageRank and all the other SEO goodness.  Because people want a link on this page, there's a good chance that those link pages themselves have links going to it, in order to make it even stronger.  So theoretically having hundreds of these pages will be passing a pretty big amount of SEO "link equity", as it were.

However, the huge downside to this is how unnatural it looks and how easily it could be ruined.  If you have a link on a page that already has a lot of links on it, the share of the SEO strength your link would get will be reduced.  There's also nothing preventing the webmaster from adding further links over time, thus devaluing your link further.

Then of course we need to look at how unnatural it looks.  If you were to use this tactic, not only would your link constantly appear next to your competitors', which in itself might look strange, but having the majority of your links coming from pages that are labelled "links pages" just screams unnatural.  You might think it could be OK, because those are links to resources or websites that might be "helpful for the user", but I can assure you that Google would not see it that way, should they go to review the links.

So yes, it may be working now.  But with no assurance that it would work in the future, that the pages would be strictly moderated, and combined with the fact that this looks extremely unnatural to a Google reviewer makes me think that you should not use this tactic at all.  For the short-term benefit, your run a very real risk of jeopardising your site in the long run.

Hope this helps.

[auke1810]

Thanks Tom,

That is completely my idea and why at this point i was reluctant to use this strategy. I get lots of emails from websites who want to trade links on such webpages filled with hundreds of links.

Still the new competitor (and others) use these strategies and I wanted to make sure my understanding of this strategy and not using it is correct.

How could i get an even beter understanding wy this competitor is out ranking me on certain keywords?

[TheeDigital]

Auke,

If I could add my two cents in, I would work on turning your current customers into enthusiasts. There's always a way to create content and in the long term, if you create good content it's going to be shared.

Some thoughts include:

• Create a content related newsletter.  For example if you sell athletic shoes, create a newsletter about athletes or if you sell dish washers, create a newsletter about keeping the house clean.
• Go all in on social media. Even if you sell dish washers, give people a reason to like your site.
• Brand yourself and speak at events. Most events will give speakers or sponsors links, if you're not afraid to be out there go out and speak at events. Look at Scott Monty the Ford guy, wherever he goes Ford is going to get a link.

Going back to your question though...I'd do some competitor analysis.  It sounds like you've already explored the number of links he has so why don't you use something like Browse SEO to explore his onsite SEO.

I hope that helps.

• Richard.

[auke1810]

Thanks Richard,

Indeed, there are lots of strategy's who are more legit and a great content strategy is what I am counting on. I will dive deeper in the competitor. Thanks for the "browse SEO" link.

What other tools are you all using in order to understand the competitor strategy?